Calvin Klein’s a master when it comes to branding. He just is. In another canny marketing move, the designer enlists musicians ranging from Left Eye (R.I.P.) to Shakira and Moby to David Silveria of Korn to be his models for an upcoming denim campaign shot by Steven Klein. In this segment, we go on set with Moby, David and Dolores O’Riordan (from the Cranberries) for their shoots. The denim is dirtied up this season, and to complement the look, the backdrop is dark, with the lighting creating a bluish cocoon of shadows.

Creating portraits that capture the mood of the collection without compromising each artist’s image is tricky. Styling, makeup and hair are all considered with special care so as to not alienate their fans.

Remember Y2K? The hoopla surrounding the turn of the millennium was all anything anyone talked about at the time, and here we look to the runways for the first collections of 2000 to see if anything’s changed. It's sort of like staring into the mirror on your birthday to check if you’ve grown or gotten more good-looking overnight. We look to Marc Jacobs for a new take on cotton. “I sort of felt going into the year 2000,” he says. “It was a sure thing [to] play with the notion of what it feels like to wear jeans and a T-shirt. That just always seems contemporary.” The denim is offered in a slightly shiny, trouser-cut silhouette that dominated the early part of the aughts, as well as knee-length, flat-front shorts. The tees are offered in silhouettes ranging from stylized embroidered white peasant blouses to sequined tube tops.

Anna Sui takes the peasant look further, maintaining a tight thematic focus to keep it from devolving into role-playing. “I’ve really been celebrating handicrafts,” she says. “I was trying to make it casual enough that you could walk down the street without people thinking you came out of a costume epic.” Her ensembles feature embroidery, intricate lace and beadwork. A romantic flourish is preserved in soft, flowing silhouettes and relaxed, tissue-thin ruffles.

Oscar de la Renta is as glamorous this season as you’d expect. He offers massive, reflective paillettes in soft colors. Embroidery is featured here too, but the interesting thing is that even he opted for some casual notes, like the evening two-piece that was widely beloved by starlets. You’ll recall the shiny balloon skirts (some going so far as to feature pockets) that were paired with scoop-neck tees and tanks, for an unfussy but pulled-together look. (Sharon Stone famously wore a full skirt with a GAP tee, as you may recall.) He also flips the script on denim, to show blue twill as a luxury item.

At John Bartlett, it’s all about the “Guerilla Ballerina”: the interplay between a militaristic palette, utilitarian trousers and sheer, pale, blouses and shells. And, of course, there’s also summerweight leather. Helmut Lang’s signature erogenous zone has to be the sternum, and this season we see plunging, asymmetrical necklines in elegant fabrics. It’s crispness galore, with delicate knits and a fascinating retooling of eveningwear by way of a sweatshirt and sweatpant combo rendered in the most ethereal fabric. With Yeohlee, it’s all about the absence of black, and a thorough study of sheen, with pearlescent textiles creating texture in thick strapped tanks and cropped jackets. A fresh-faced Michael Kors did then what he’s always done best: a collection featuring wrap skirts, bold color and a motif he dubs “Palm Bitch.” It’s classic Kors all the way: resort wear that looks unmistakably American.

Colors fly at Versace. Donatella hyper-saturates trousers, bandeaus and crop tops while masterfully injecting refreshing jolts of white. Declaring white the new black, she says it's the color (or lack of color) for the new rock 'n roll class.

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